School Board Vice President Janice Brassard, left, has a discussion with fellow board member Mike Neil, right, before the board took to voting on their action items. The Beaumont Independent School Board met Thursday night, January 10, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. in the board room of the administration building to discuss the Department of Justice objection to a 5-2 election scheme and what their future plans would be. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise
Photo: Dave Ryan

School Board Vice President Janice Brassard, left, has a discussion...

Board member Zenobia Bush reads the motion to name current Assistant Superintendent Research/Evaluation Timothy Chargois as the lone finalist after coming out of Executive Session. Bonton and Timothy Chargois were the two finalists before the board went into Executive Session. Beaumont ISD trustees met in a special meeting to name a lone finalist to replace retiring superintendent Carrol Thomas Monday night. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise
Photo: Dave Ryan

Sybil Comeaux, center, passes out hardhats to the officials invited to the Amelia Elementary School ground breaking. BISD broke ground Tuesday on the first of the nine elementary schools it plans to build with the bond money. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise

Sybil Comeaux, center, passes out hardhats to the officials invited...

The Beaumont Independent School Board held it's regular meeting Thursday night March 21, 2013, with a full house in the audience and lots of people wanting to address the board. BISD Police Chief Clydell Duncan, center, talks with board member Mike Neil, left, and a lady right, from the audience. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise
Photo: Dave Ryan

Conservator Fred Shafer talks with the Beaumont Enterprise after Monday night's BISD agenda review meeting. The Beaumont Independent School District held its monthly agenda review meeting Monday night. Monday morning, the TEA announced that it would be replacing the superintendent and the school board.
Photo taken Monday, 4/14/14
Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX
Photo: Jake Daniels

The Beaumont school district and the Texas Education Agency squared off this morning in a fight for which side will control BISD for the next few years.

Christopher Jones, senior counsel for the Texas Education Agency, began his opening remarks by saying Beaumont ISD has been involved in a number of legal investigations and law violations for years, citing the Calvin Walker case and two employees embezzling $4 million last year as specific examples.

"The district's strategy is not to fix these problems, but to deny they exist," Jones said.

On the other side, BISD attorneys claim the state violated Texas law by appointing a conservator. Moreover, the lawyers argue the TEA installed a conservator who is not qualified for the job because his background is in special education and not financial management.

The hearing centers on Education Commissioner Michael Williams' April decision to replace trustees and Superintendent Timothy Chargois with a state-appointed board of managers.

The hearing also gives both sides the opportunity to argue about Williams' decisions to lower the district's accreditation status and assign Conservator Fred Shafer to oversee BISD.

Chris Tritico, Beaumont ISD's attorney, argues that Shafer is not qualified for the job. Tritico said Shafer is only certified to lead a special education department, not an entire school district.

Additionally, Tritico said the state did not give the district enough time to repair items outlined by the TEA before Williams announced a state takeover.

Dr. Lisa Dawn-Fisher, associate commissioner of school finance, said during the hearing that she investigated Beaumont ISD's finances last year.

Dawn-Fisher said she found that the district failed to oversee operations and violated a number of its own policies, including paying vendors without an invoice.

Dawn-Fisher said the district has for years overspent and that it has caught up with BISD.

She said she is concerned that the district now wants to eliminate 300 teaching and staff positions to get its budget under control. Those cuts could hurt the district's ability to provide quality education, she said.

The record review began at 9 a.m. at the TEA's Austin headquarters, 1701 N. Congress Ave.

Chief Deputy Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds is presiding over the hearing and is expected to issue a final ruling within days.

Thus far, Reynolds has not been involved in the TEA's dealings with BISD.

BISD requested the appeal hearing days after Williams issued his decision for a state takeover of the district.

Williams' April ruling came just two weeks after a final TEA investigative report of BISD's finances cited critical weaknesses in the district's internal controls as sufficient reason for recommending replacing the district's governing body.

Williams has said he expects to prevail in BISD's appeal of his decision because "we have extremely good lawyers at the TEA."

Tritico Rainey attorneys reserved the right to call 35 witnesses. None have been called with less than one hour left in the four-hour hearing.